Adventures with Bread Machine, part I

Friday after work, I picked up a behemoth but practically new-in-the-box Sunbeam Breadmaker 5891 from St. Vinnie's. Since the thrift shop has a two-day window for returns on appliances, fresh-baked bread was on the menu this weekend.

The Sunbeam came with a book of 12 recipes, so I decided to start with the supposedly no-fail "Homestyle White Bread, 1.5-Pound Loaf." I made a quick grocery run for butter, nonfat dry milk powder, bread flour and bread machine yeast, and by about 9:30 p.m. I was ready to take my bread machine for its first test drive.

The process couldn't have been easier. Add ingredients to bread pan. Put in machine. Close lid. Push button. Made me wish Sunbeam also offered a Meringuepiemaker or a Soufflemaker.

I watched the kneading blade maneuver the dough around the pan through the clear window on top, and was impressed as the dough started to rise. As the three-hour timer reached its last hour, I checked on the baking process. Bummer - the top had fallen and there was a giant smushy crater in the middle of my bread. 

After the baking completed, I crossed my fingers and removed the pan. As I shook the bread out, I was relieved that the bread had risen after all, though the top looked like the collapsed Metrodome after a large snowfall. Also, the kneading blade had embedded itself inside the bread, but the people at Sunbeam fortunately had thought of this and provided a hook-like device to surgically remove this non-edible piece of metal from the bread.

I cut my first slice, which looked a little like a cat with pointy ears framing the part that had collapsed on top. However, the inside looked great - no dense layers or air bubbles, just warm, fluffy bread. Win! Next time I think I'll try different grains, seeds, nuts or dried fruit.

RNA